The next day.
As soon as the corner door of Prince Ning's Mansion opened, a little maid came out hurriedly. She waved to the carriage for rent nearby. When the carriage approached, she looked around before getting on. However, after the carriage had been gone for a stick of incense, it quickly came back. The person who got off was Taozhi. She walked very fast, and when she was about to reach the door, she turned back and remembered to give the fare to the coachman.
She trotted into the palace with a very flustered expression on her face.
I ran a few steps and almost fell.
Finally they entered the house and Qin Xiangning sat up. Taozhi drove the other maids out and then approached her and said anxiously, "Princess, I went to the two clinics you mentioned, but...they said that their master was invited by the prince last night and did not return all night."
"Crown Prince?" Qin Xiangning's eyes widened, and she coughed after a long while, "Did he... tell them what the crown prince wanted them to do?"
"Just say please."
Qin Xiangning leaned against the head of the bed, her eyes staring straight ahead for a while. After a while, she finally waved her hand and asked Taozhi to leave.
Taozhi took off the bag on her body and put it in the cabinet. It was such a large sum of money, and the princess did not think of asking for it just now, so she could not embezzle it.
Qin Xiangning was a little distracted.
She was fidgeting, but when she moved, blood gushed out from under her body. She couldn't help but feel sad. Was it really true that there was no root of disease left in her body?
Another night came, Qin Xiangning sat there in a daze. Taozhi had just gone to find the doctors, but those doctors haven't come back yet. What happened to them?
Tomorrow the Queen Mother will interrogate An Qingran. What will be the result?
Thinking of this, a sly smile appeared in her eyes.
**********
The next day.
The sky was fine, just like the day of the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.
There was even a hint of floral scent in the air.
On this day, Feng Palace.
The Emperor, the Crown Prince, Consort Xian, Consort Shu, as well as Prince Ning and Prince Kang were all present.
It's like a trial by three judges.
An Qingran entered the room with Dongfang Jin.
The Queen Mother and the Emperor sat on the throne.
Of course, the Queen Mother sat in the main seat. When An Qingran came in, her brows turned cold. An Qingran just bowed but did not kneel down.
Dongfang Jin was standing beside her, and seeing his resolute look, An Qingran felt a little more secure.
"Everyone is here, so let's get started." The Queen Mother said calmly.
After saying that, she looked at Emperor Yunqi.
Emperor Yunqi nodded slightly and said, "Crown Princess, please tell everyone the true situation of that day."
The superiority and inferiority are immediately apparent.
There was obvious protectiveness in Yunqidi's tone.
An Qingran then respectfully recounted what happened that day, and finally said, "I only blame myself for not being quick enough to support Princess Ning. I feel sad for her for losing a son."
The Queen Mother snorted coldly, "That sounds nice, but how can you confuse right and wrong? We all saw you push her at the time, and now you are just denying it with your red lips? Do you have any evidence?"
An Qingran heard this and said, "When the incident happened, I only remember that Aunt Rong was present. She should know what happened at that time."
The Queen Mother looked at Aunt Rong and said, "Tell me about it."
Rong Ma Ma knelt down at once and said, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I was indeed standing behind the Crown Princess and Princess Ning at that time. So, although I didn't see what happened clearly, I know that it was definitely not the Crown Princess who reached out to push Princess Ning. At that time, Princess Ning cried out first, lost her balance, and fell backwards. Then the Crown Princess made her move. It looked like she was trying to pull Princess Ning."
The Emperor looked at Rong Mama when he heard this and asked, "Why didn't you say anything yesterday? Did you cause the Crown Princess to be wronged?"
“Your Majesty, I was frightened yesterday. It was only after a whole night of careful recollection that I was sure that it was not the Crown Princess who did it.” Nanny Rong knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head, especially not daring to look at the Empress Dowager.
"How dare you!" The Queen Mother slammed the table. "You old fool, aren't you making me the bad guy by misunderstanding the Crown Princess? Are you sure about the situation at that time? What do you mean by trying to get Princess Ning? You know that your testimony is crucial."
As soon as the Queen Mother finished speaking, the Emperor looked at her in confusion. He said nothing, but his brows were furrowed.
Aunt Rong was so frightened that she lowered her head even lower: "Old slave, I am not mistaken..."
The Queen Mother said nothing more.
Xian Fei suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I was also at the scene at that time. It doesn't make sense that Princess Ning would fall down to frame the Crown Princess..."
"What are you talking about? Who said that Princess Ning fell down by herself? Who said that she framed the Crown Princess? Aren't we investigating the truth? Your thoughts are too weird, aren't they?" The emperor said in a cold voice.
Concubine Xian secretly hated herself for not being able to speak and hurriedly said, "That's not what I meant. It's just that there is only one testimony, which is not trustworthy to those of us with our eyes. Although we were not close at the time, we saw the movements clearly. Princess Ning fell straight backwards, not to the side, nor to the front."
Emperor Yunqi had a sullen face. Yesterday, Concubine Xian and the Crown Prince knelt outside his imperial study and demanded that the murderer be severely punished.
After crying for a long time, he told them that three days was just three days, and they actually forced him to be judged early.
He also gave Dongfang Jin three days, hoping that he could find evidence to prove the Crown Princess' innocence.
Now that there is finally evidence, the virtuous concubine and her son seem unwilling to accept it.
He sighed, "I am also heartbroken that my child is gone. He is also my grandson. I understand your actions, but you cannot deny the facts. In the face of the facts, how can you say such things?"
The virtuous concubine was stunned for a moment: "I am only telling the truth. I don't ask for anything else, I just ask for fairness and justice for my grandson and daughter-in-law."
"What am I doing? Am I not seeking justice for them? But justice and injustice are not the same thing, understand? Also, did Princess Ning personally point out that it was An Qingran who pushed her down?"
The emperor asked the most crucial question.
Everyone was stunned. Yes, after all, everyone saw it, so why didn’t the person involved say anything?
The Queen Mother looked at Concubine Xian: "You have been following Concubine Ning's side. Concubine Ning has told you a long time ago, so you came to me to ask me to seek justice for you, right?"
The Queen Mother's words immediately freed herself from the blame.
The Xian Fei's forehead was covered with sweat. Yes, everyone had always thought that it was An Qingran who did it, so no one asked the Ning Wang Fei. It was always taken for granted.
She looked at King Ning.
Prince Ning straightened his neck and said, "How can this be wrong? Yesterday, the princess asked me if I had punished the Crown Princess. If it had nothing to do with the Crown Princess, why would she ask such a question?"
Xianfei's face turned pale, and she was about to say something, when suddenly, a weak voice came from outside: "Mother..."
The virtuous concubine turned around in surprise, only to see Qin Xiangning walking in with the help of peach branches, kneeling on the ground: "Mother, I am not good, I have made you sad..."
"Why is your child here? You are in confinement now. What will happen to your health in the future?" Concubine Xian was surprised and pitied when Ning Wang's wife came. Qin Xiangning was a beauty, but now her pale face, slightly pink eyelids and tearful eyes would make anyone feel distressed.
Prince Ning had not expected her to come, so he stepped forward and whispered, "You don't want your body anymore? Father and the Queen Mother will make the decision for us, why are you so anxious?"
In fact, he hated her for not informing him and acting on her own, and his face was very unhappy.
Dongfang Jin and An Qingran looked at each other with complicated expressions.
When the emperor saw that it was her, he said, "You came at the right time. You know the most. Since you are here, tell us everything again. Tell us whether An Qingran pushed you and why she pushed you."
Qin Xiangning knelt there and shook her head: "The Crown Princess didn't push me, she wanted to help me, it might be because of everyone's line of sight... I'm sorry, I lost my child and my mind is confused. When I heard that the Crown Princess was implicated because of me, I didn't care about much else and immediately came to the palace to clarify. It's also my fault that I have been sad all the time and forgot to talk about this matter in detail with my mother and the prince. I beg the emperor to see the pain of my mother and the prince in losing their loved ones and not blame them. Punish me if you want to, it's all my fault..."
Her words were like a huge thunderclap exploding over everyone's heads, making everyone dizzy and confused.
I don't know who reacted first. There was a cry, and then everyone came back to life. The emperor was the first to react, but he seemed not to have heard it clearly, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "What? Say it again."
The Queen Mother heard it clearly, and her face turned red, as if someone had slapped her in the face, and very loudly.
No, it was the second slap she received, but the slap from Nanny Rong was not as heavy or fierce as the one from Princess Ning.
She felt like she was just a clown, jumping around all the time, but no one appreciated her at all.
When Qin Xiangning saw that the emperor was asking her, she respectfully recounted what had happened. She only said that she stepped on a blade of grass and slipped, which led to the accident.
The Queen Mother originally wanted to push the responsibility onto An Qingran, but at this moment she didn't want to say a word. She hoped that she could remain invisible.
An Qingran didn't speak, and neither did Dongfang Jin. Concubine Xian was just in a daze, and Prince Ning was about to get angry, so no one wanted to speak except the Emperor.
The emperor laughed again, and finally sighed: "So, this is a misunderstanding?"
"This... I deserve to die." Concubine Xian knelt down. She felt that her teeth were broken and she could only swallow it. "Please punish me, Your Majesty. I blamed the Crown Princess without knowing the truth. If Your Majesty hadn't appeared in time, the Crown Princess would have suffered physical pain."
The Queen Mother snorted and secretly hated herself in her heart, "You are such a virtuous concubine, now you have dragged me down into this trouble."
Prince Ning was young after all, and he always felt that this matter was not the case. If An Qingran had not harmed Qin Xiangning, why did she hate An Qingran so much and why did she ask that question?
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